


A New Beginning

by PalestAzure



Category: Mother of the Year (Visual Novel)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:55:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23392105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PalestAzure/pseuds/PalestAzure
Summary: Levi has moved in with Freya and Zoe. While Freya is out running a few errands, Levi is bonding more with Zoey as the two of them spend their first morning together.
Relationships: Levi Schuler/Main Character (Mother of the Year)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	A New Beginning

Freya had moved into a new condo with Zoey about a month prior. Now that his lease was up, Levi began moving in his things last night and brought the rest of his belongings this morning. He was now officially the third resident of the apartment. He had a few boxes in the living room, but most of his other things were in the bedroom he shared with Freya. He had planned to start unpacking after breakfast. Freya was out running some errands and had left Levi and Zoey alone for the morning. 

Zoey sat on a stool at the long kitchen island in her new home. Her science textbook was spread open, as her mind raced with all of the new information. Her eyes were glistening as they moved over the words on the page. They widened as they took in the colorful images and diagrams that supplemented the textual explanations. Her smile grew more across her face, until there was a slight hint of her teeth peeking through. 

Levi was searching through the cabinets, but glanced over his shoulder at Zoey. The way she was engrossed in her book made him feel so proud of her as if she were his own daughter. He couldn’t believe that the woman he loved has allowed him to be a part of this special girl’s life. He truly felt blessed. But being blessed with this ten-year-old also meant taking on new responsibilities. Parental ones. 

He leaned forward against the island in the direction of Zoey. 

“Whatcha want for breakfast, Rocket?” 

Without looking up from her book, she responded. “Did you know there are 14 levels of pH?” 

“Oh? Well, I was thinking of pancakes. What are pancakes on the scale?”

Zoey furrowed her brow as she scanned the pages, even flipping through the chapter. “I don’t know. It doesn’t say.”

“Maybe if we think about the ingredients of pancakes, like milk, butter, flour--”   
  
“And eggs!” Zoey explicitly pointed to the scale in her book. Levi leaned forward closer to see. 

The book had a large image of a colorful pH scale with labels of ‘neutral,’ ‘acid,’ and ‘base.’ The scale was a numbered color spectrum from red to purple. And each level had an example of an item represented by a picture, such as an egg. It was an easy way to display the information for a ten-year-old. But then again, Zoey was not just any average ten-year-old, as her award-winning rocket in the school’s science fair had proven. 

“Oh, that’s interesting! What’s the pH level of eggs?”

“An 8! It’s one level above neutral.”

“So it won’t eat through our stomachs?” Levi mimicked a stomachache.

Zoey laughed. “No. Eggs aren’t acidic, Levi. And our stomach acid is way more acidic than eggs.”

He pretended to wipe sweat from his forehead. “Phew. That’ll save me an emergency trip to the ER.”

Zoey returned to her book, while Levi began mixing the ingredients in a bowl for the pancakes. He turned on the burner to begin heating the griddle before whisking the batter. 

“This stainless steel stove is quite an upgrade.”   
  
He could hear Zoey giggling behind him. “But I prefer our old one ‘cause I helped you fix it.”

He turned back around and smiled warmly at her. “Well, I’m sure there will be other things you can help me fix.”   
  
“Yeah, lots!” 

He swiped some of the batter onto his finger and poked the tip of her nose with it, leaving some of the batter behind on it. “Oh, no. What happened to your nose?”   
  
“Levi!” Zoey stared cross-eyed down at her nose. She could see a little foreign blob at its tip. Her giggling was contagious.

“Your little nose! How are we going to fix it?”

Zoey pointed at the roll of paper towels on the metal holder that was out of her reach across the island, all the while laughing uncontrollably. Levi ripped off a piece of paper towel and began wiping her left cheek. 

“Not there!”

“No? How about here?” He moved to wiping her forehead.

“Levi!” They both couldn’t help but continue their combined laughter.

“I think I’m going to need your help.” He handed her the paper towel and watched her wipe the tip of her nose.

“How’s that?”

Levi inspected it with a fake seriousness. “Perfect.” His face lit up as he gave her little nose a boop, and then went to continue preparing breakfast. 

“How many do you want?”

“Um, I usually have two, but because it’s just me and you, can I have an extra?”

Levi scooped a pancake off the griddle with a spatula and plopped it onto a stack of two. He slid the plate in front of Zoey and winked. “If your mom asks, say it’s a special occasion.”

He placed a bottle of maple syrup and a mug with green stripes next to her plate.

“Thanks, Levi!” She looked inside her mug and saw milk. “And milk is a bit acidic, see?” She pointed to the scale in her book again.

“Oh, is that what makes some people lactose intolerant?”

“I don’t know.” Zoey shrugged. “I’ll ask Ms. Matsunaga on Monday. I promise.”

Levi topped off the breakfast with a fresh bowl of fruit of strawberries and mango.

“Hey, you want to help me with the dishes after we eat? Maybe you could teach me how to use this dishwasher.”   
  
Zoey smiled and nodded as she chewed on her first bite. 

He finished making the last of the batch of pancakes, putting some aside for Freya. He sat with Zoey at the island as they ate together, while she continued telling him all about the pH scale from her book.

After they finished their breakfast, Zoey helped Levi with the dishes. 

“I’ve never had a dishwasher before.”   
  
“Me neither, Rocket.”   
  
Levi rinsed the dishes, and then handed each one to Zoey to load. He noticed how meticulous she was in loading the dishwasher. She ensured that each item fit perfectly in the rack, with no dishes crowding each other or sitting on top of another dish. It was as if she was putting together a jigsaw puzzle and each piece was a separate dish. 

As she finished loading, Levi grabbed a detergent pod from a box under the sink.

“Where does this go?”

“In the dispenser here.” Zoey opened the small dispenser on the back of the dishwasher door. 

While Zoey showed Levi how to put in the pod, the front door opened, but they were too preoccupied working the dishwasher to notice. Freya heard them in the kitchen and headed in that direction. She placed some bags on the island and watched them in silence, as their backs were to her. She smiled at the sight of her family and how well Zoey got along with Levi. Seeing them together made her realize she made the right choice about bringing him into their lives. And it was that thought that kept the radiant glow on her face. 

Once the dishwasher began to hum, Levi and Zoey high-fived. 

“Thank you for showing Levi how to use the dishwasher, Zoey.” Freya finally caught their attention.    
  
“Mom! Guess what?”

“What?”

“Levi made us pancakes!” Zoey grabbed a plate wrapped in aluminum foil and brought it over to her mom.    
  
“Is this for me?” Freya asked. 

Zoey nodded with an excited smile. Freya glanced over at Levi who was leaning back against the sink. They exchanged a heated look, one that Zoey would never have caught nor understood the meaning behind.

“Well, thank you, sweetheart.” She kissed her daughter’s head and set her plate on the island. “I did bring back something. Would you both care to join me in the living room?”

Zoey jumped up and down in excitement and ran to the couch. Levi left his place by the sink to wrap his arms around Freya from behind, her back pressed against him. 

“I think I could get used to coming home seeing you with her.” 

Freya turned around in Levi’s arms and planted a tender kiss against his stubbled cheek. She then grabbed one of the bags and his hand and led him to the living room where Zoey was waiting. They took a seat on the couch, with Freya sitting between them. She pulled out an item from the bag and placed it on her thighs.

“Oh, mom, is this a photo album?” Zoey asked as she sat up straighter.

“Yes. When we first moved here, we had our new beginnings board. But now, with this new place and with Levi becoming part of our family, I thought we should start a whole new beginning.”

Freya opened the photo album to the first page.   
  
“Zoey, do you want to reach inside the bag? There’s one more thing we need.”   
  
Zoey curiously looked into the bag and pulled out a photo. “It’s the photo we took at the sushi restaurant.” She held it up and showed it to Levi.

“I’d have to say, we look da--really good,” Levi commented.

“We can start filling this album with memorable moments of the three of us. What do you think?”

“That’s a great idea mom!” 

Zoey took the picture and added it to the first page. She leaned against her mom as she took in the image. Levi wrapped his arm around Freya’s shoulders, his hand resting on Zoey’s. And just like in the photo, which was the day they all decided to live together, they sat together on the couch united as one family. It was the beginning of their shared lives. 

  
  



End file.
